Recently, The Husband and I have had the distinct displeasure of playing host to a marauding band of grain beetles that set up shop in our pantry. Grain beetles, as the name suggests, are tiny beetles (only a millimeter or two long) that like to hang out in grain-related foods, especially flours. Fortunately, our flours seem unaffected, probably because we keep most of them in the fridge or freezer, but that did not stop our little uninvited houseguests from making themselves at home in the rest of our food. At last count, beetles have been found in the following: two grains, five pastas, one box of cereal, and several dried chiles.
Fortunately, being of a sunny disposition (ha!), I realized that there was a positive side to all of this: PANTRY REORGANIZATION TIME! (Yes, I have a problem. I know.)
As mentioned previously, we are rich in dried goods. Unfortunately, we weren't particularly rich in storage systems, because apparently our hearty Gladware containers weren't hearty enough to keep these beastly little beasts from colonizing our rices and grains. Part of the problem seemed to be that faux-Tupperware does not close well (or The Husband is just too lazy to close things adequately, because this is obviously not my fault); even in what appeared by be well-sealed containers, we kept finding critters.
Enter Goodwill and its collection of cheap mason jarrery!
I have been wanting to re-do our grains for a while, since before arriving in the desert, but was dissuaded by the prospect of transporting a couple dozen glass jars across the country. But now! Now I had a legitimate reason to indulge my pretty organizational whims. (And, with Saturdays being EVERYTHING 50% OFF days at Goodwill, it was a relatively painless financial investment.)
Fortunately, being of a sunny disposition (ha!), I realized that there was a positive side to all of this: PANTRY REORGANIZATION TIME! (Yes, I have a problem. I know.)
As mentioned previously, we are rich in dried goods. Unfortunately, we weren't particularly rich in storage systems, because apparently our hearty Gladware containers weren't hearty enough to keep these beastly little beasts from colonizing our rices and grains. Part of the problem seemed to be that faux-Tupperware does not close well (or The Husband is just too lazy to close things adequately, because this is obviously not my fault); even in what appeared by be well-sealed containers, we kept finding critters.
Enter Goodwill and its collection of cheap mason jarrery!
I have been wanting to re-do our grains for a while, since before arriving in the desert, but was dissuaded by the prospect of transporting a couple dozen glass jars across the country. But now! Now I had a legitimate reason to indulge my pretty organizational whims. (And, with Saturdays being EVERYTHING 50% OFF days at Goodwill, it was a relatively painless financial investment.)
Here is the result of several hours of grain shifting. I sort of didn't want to eat any of them, for aesthetic reasons. Then I remembered that food is good and all my notions of visually-appealing organization went right out the window.
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| this is about as artsy as I get. |
In addition to being pretty, the grains are now much easier to use, and surprisingly easier to navigate. The use of glass also makes the food much more visible, which would allow for quicker diagnoses in the future, should the beetles return with reinforcements. The surviving chiles have been jarred, too (though I take some consolation from the face that all the beetles I discovered in the chiles were dead, perhaps killed by their hubris and/or over-estimation of their Scoville-handling capabilities), as have some particularly vulnerable pastas.
So, for now, the pantry is at peace. It seems that our little beetle friends only thrive when there is humidity, so I suppose I can count my blessings that triple-digit days of triple-digit temperatures are nigh, as that should kill anything left in the pantry. It might kill me, too, but hey — at least the rice will be safe.
